About me
Revisiting my elementary school in the city of Galati, Romania, in 2021. The artwork recently painted on the school building by a local artist had the power to pierce through to my soul.
Hi, I’m Cati (she/her)
I love working with people who feel stuck and lost after having to grow up fast because I’ve been there. I get it on a level that I couldn’t without living through it. I know the pain that can pass along as invisible to the outside world. I have my own journey getting to liberating relief and coming into my power. Your journey and roadmap will be different, but what I want you to know is that I’ve been there, too. And I believe you have what it takes to feel true, profound relief, without having to fight everyday for the rest of your life to get it.
Many of my clients hold multiple identities and can struggle in navigating them authentically. I know something about that. I have a lifetime of experience code switching between cultures and languages. I’m a first generation immigrant and a child of immigrants. I grew up in both collectivist and individualistic cultures, and for a long time I struggled to exist in both. What I love about this work is how we can explore feeling seen and validated in multiple identities, and nourish every part of you that makes you whole.
I love connecting with people in a way that feels relational, whether we meet for a few sessions or work together for longer. This work is deeply vulnerable, and it’s essential to me that you feel safe. I’m going to trust your lived experience and meet you where you are. I’m the type of person who will go down in the trenches with you. I won’t be able to do the work or feel the change for you. You have to do that, and I can’t promise you that it’s going to be easy. What I can promise you is that you’re not going to be alone in it. We’ll be in it together.
I love Coherence Coaching because it works in the most profound way possible. I love that it’s evidence-based and rooted in neuroscience. I love how it’s not a rigid approach, how it doesn’t claim ownership of the science, and how it collaborates with other experience-driven methodologies. I love that it actually works in real life, and in ways that traditional behavioral health approaches simply cannot. I know from both professional and personal experience how it leads to real breakthroughs and creates liberating shifts that are truly life-changing. I constantly hear seasoned professionals saying, I wish I had found this sooner. I’ve seen clients get more out of a few sessions of Coherence Coaching than years of traditional talk therapy.
I love this work, and I feel a profound responsibility for it. I am honored to guide you in your journey to transformational change.
Values
Our work together will honor every authentic part of you. Trust and safety are key to our relationship and to the deep, vulnerable work that is required for profound healing. I actively seek to be a true white ally to BIPOC. I actively seek to be a true cis, straight ally to the LGBTQ+ community. The feminism I’m interested in is intersectional feminism. I honor health at every size. I honor rest as liberation. In both my personal and professional life, I’m not neutral and I’m not silent when it comes to issues of social justice. Our sessions will be about you and your personal journey. But I want you to know that I see the bigger picture that intertwines with each client’s journey in profound ways. The two cannot be separated or compartmentalized when it comes to true healing.
Educational and professional experience
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Romance Languages from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I was able to attend college because of the Carolina Covenant Scholarship. I am happy to support the program and its current students as an alumna and mentor. During my undergraduate career I studied abroad in Argentina and Spain. I also conducted independent ethnographic research in Romania and Hungary.
I am a Master of Social Work candidate at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I chose the program for its strong focus on social justice in the field of behavioral health.
I have over five years of experience in the behavioral health field, working with various modalities in different capacities. I have experience with cognitive approaches, mindfulness techniques, and experiential methods. I am actively training through the Coherence Psychology Institute. I am passionate about experience-driven, evidence-based methods like Coherence Coaching because they consistently lead to transformational, liberating change for clients. They are the future of the behavioral health field, and I am thrilled to witness their impact in my clients’ lives. There is nothing more rewarding for me than supporting my clients in their unique journeys, witnessing them stepping authentically into their power and embodying their true purpose. I feel honored and humbled for the privilege of doing this profoundly meaning work.
I have over twelve years of experience offering behavioral coaching to individuals and families as a financial advisor, fiduciary, and CFP professional. I spent most of my professional career with Vanguard. I worked with very diverse populations of clients, guiding them through various life stages through behavioral coaching and education. My work also focused on recruiting, mentoring, and supporting diverse employees.
I volunteer with Safe Alliance in Charlotte as a hospital companion for survivors of sexual assault. I provide support and counseling to survivors during very difficult moments. I feel a profound responsibility when I get to be by their side through these experiences.
I’ve also nurtured my passion for travel by starting Buna Travel, a mindful travel company centering historically marginalized communities. I love creating and leading meaningful travel experiences while supporting local businesses that are owned or led by people from historically marginalized communities.
One more note
I created this website and wrote its content. There was no AI involved. The only assistants I had were the floof kind, pictured here. They were incredibly helpful.
